Sunday playtime

Happy 4th of July!

Well, we took the bikes up to the parade and stopped at a couple of bbqs along the way. I took my good camera in hopes of getting some fun pictures of Abby on this, her first 4th of July. Instead, she decided to do this...



Oh well. There's always next year.

One Family, TWO Miracles

Yes, it appears as though our little family has been graced with yet another miracle. And as if Abby wasn't more than we could have ever hoped for! It is the most welcome surprise ever, being pregnant naturally, especially after what we had to go through to conceive Abby and Madison. Although I must admit, I am discovering that we certainly are not the first family to conceive naturally after IVF. As a matter of fact, it is apparently quite common! Who knew pregnancy could be the cure for infertility? At least in some cases anyways.

So I am just about 7 weeks along and I imagine you are wondering why I would dare announce this pregnancy to the entire blog world so early on. Well, here's my take on the subject...

You see, I used to be one of those wait-until-you're-safely-out-of-the-first- trimester-until-you-tell-anyone-you-are-pregnant kind of people. That is, until I was finally pregnant for the first time. The minute I found out, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops...and I basically did, mind you. But once it finally happened to me, and because we had to go through so much to get there, I just felt like we should celebrate it...Every. Single. Day. No matter if it lasted 6 weeks, 16 weeks or 36 weeks (or in my case, 28). And so, that's what we did.

I've been thinking long and hard for a couple of weeks now about when and how I would post our news on my blog. And again, I am feeling that I want to shout it from the rooftops. And so, again, I am! I mean seriously, when I think about it, what if I didn't talk about it, and then something awful happened? Would I never talk about? Would I just go on pretending that it never happened? Probably not. So, why not let the world in on our little secret and celebrate this new miracle for as long as we possibly can!

I am not trying to justify telling you all so early, but if you've read our story, certainly you know the last pregnancy wasn't exactly what a first-time pregnant mommy would hope for. So this one? Well, this one will be different. This one will be long. 37 weeks long, hopefully. And this one will be boring. Yes, I said boring.

A long and boring pregnancy. That's not to much to ask for now, is it?

Wordless Wednesday

Back in business

I finally have a new laptop! Yay! I'm still working on getting my Photoshop back without buying it all over again, but at least I have a computer again. I am pretty excited about it too, except for this Windows Vista. I liked XP, so getting used to Vista will take some time, but I am sure before long I will have it figured out.

So what have we been up to? Well, Brian's brother Jeff and family were visiting from Canada, so Abby got to meet her cousin Leila for the first time. Leila will be 3 in a couple of weeks, so it was fun to see them play together. Of course, the only picture they would let me take of them together was in the tub. That figures...it required them being trapped together to get one.



On Saturday we went to the Long Beach Aquarium. It was packed with families, so things got a little hectic, but we managed for a bit before the girls started to get tired and cranky. Abby seemed to enjoy looking at all of the sea creatures, and she wore her Crocs for the first time! They were so cute on her (thanks to a hand-me-down box from my cousin H).



After the girls took their afternoon naps, we walked to the beach. Abby has really taken to it and enjoys playing in (and eating) the sand.





Sunday night Brian and I both came down with what was a horrific case of the flu. We were both sicker than I think either of us has ever been. Luckily Grandma Jean was able to come over and spend the day tending to Abby yesterday, because we could barely drag ourselves out of bed. Today we are both feeling much better. And although we don't have a lot of energy, at least we have our appetites back.

So, I think in honor of my new computer, I might need a new look for my blog. I am getting bored with the current one. We'll see if Abby gives me a chance to work on it in the near future. I'm looking forward to Wordless Wednesday tomorrow, as lately I haven't been feeling too "talkative".

Where to begin?

Wow, it's been a while since I've blogged. I guess time has just gotten away from me, especially since I am now chasing around a crawling Abby. And now that it's been so long, and I have so much to talk about, I can't figure out where to begin! So while I work on sorting out all of my thoughts, I will at least post some pictures taken over the last few weeks...unedited of course, since I still don't have a PC, or my Photoshop. And speaking of Photoshop...I really need a new header, don't I?




(PRC Reunion...I have never seen so many multiples in one place!)


(Sheepherding at the Irish Festival on Father's Day)



(first time on the swings)


(resting at the Angels game)


(Daddy's softball tournament)


(in the dugout)


(playtime with her BFF)


(more playtime)


(and more playtime)

A real update is in the works...I promise!

It's official...

I got word today that the computer is done. I guess I "fried" the motherboard. I know exactly how I did it too. It was my fault. So now, as frustrating as it is, I guess I have to go shop for a new one. Grrr. I liked my old one! The good news is, he can save my files. The bad news is, since I hadn't registered my Photoshop software yet, there is no way to get it back (I purchased it as a download so I do not have an installation cd). I don't even remember what site I purchased it from, so there goes $50 down the drain. I will have to purchase it again if I want it back. At least all of my precious memories can be saved. Thank goodness for that.